If you like the size of Apple's MacBook Air, but can't afford the $1,000 price tag, Dell has just announced a similarly small laptop at a fraction of the price.

The Dell Inspiron 11 (not to be confused with the Inspiron 11z released a few years back) features an 11.6-inch Gorilla Glass screen, though you probably shouldn't expect anything like Retina display resolution for the starting price of $349. For that amount, you get an AMD processor, but you can upgrade to an Intel fourth-generation (Haswell) Core processor starting at $379.

Dell claims that the Inspiron 11 will deliver an impressive 8+ hours of battery life when using a Haswell CPU. It packs that performance in a system that weighs just 3.15 pounds and is 0.83 inches thick. As with most Dell systems, you'll be able to customize from the base configuration, with a maximum of 4GB of RAM and 500GB of hard drive space available.

The Inspiron 11 will ship with Windows 8.1 installed and its display is touch-enabled to make use of the new OS's touchscreen capabilities. According to The Verge, Dell is promising that the new laptop (and other new systems) will be decluttered, with less bloatware and other miscellany mucking up the user experience.